It's what I decided to buy and now I'm stuck with it. I was so careful with my decision, and tried to research and weigh my decisions and I just screwed up again. My granite is Brazilian Black or the St. Gabriel Black like at Lowes. We had already decided on soapstone and then thought that it might not be right for out home. Cost was also a factor. This granite reads very black with silver and gray flecks. I chose one slab that was very consistant. I was told that I would just need one. After he started to fabricate, my granite contractor went back and got the only other slab that "matched". I has some bigger gray flecks that stand out and look like dirt at times. There's also a green chunk in a very high profile place. There is also an area that looks like a darker black rainbow shape that catches your eye. I know that granite is natural and has things like that at times, but this is not the kind where you want movement or odd colored or odd shaped things that stand out. Also, I feel like I always have to wipe it...though I'm starting to get over that a little now. The color in my kitchen just doesn't have the intensity that it did at the granite yard. The other thing that I didn't count on was with the darkness of the granite, I need to use my undercounter lights more to see. When I do, the light not only light up what I'm doing, they reflect off of the granite and shine into my eyes. It's like a black mirror. I'd love to have a non shiny finish now. I'm working to make it better now with a nice backsplash. I know, I know...I should be grateful, but it's just not what I hoped it would be. The only time I like it is when direct sunlight from my skylight hits it. Then it's all that it was at the granite yard. We're going to work on different lighting to help bring out it's best. I really wish that I felt like you guys do about your choice. The good news is that I didn't get all new cabinets AND a countertop so my mistake is ONLY a 2,200 one...How long does granite last again????

I like Lavender Lass's rendition of the kitchen very much. One thing I might change is to increase the size of the pantry next to the fridge to at least 24" wide so that you're sure to have enough food and small appliance storage. In order to give your front entry a sense of place and distinction from the dining room, I suggest adding a partial wall and column coming from the portion of wall between the front door and the bay window, perpendicular to the front wall of the house. It wouldn't have to come out very far, just enough to be there. It could even be a stub wall with a window cut-out, or a slightly thicker wall with storage below the opening (shoes?). I think you'd have to rotate the table 90 degrees to make this work. You might be able to put some built-in seating in the bay to help it fit well. I looked on Houzz for some column and partial wall ideas, but they all looked to "grand" for the scale of your home. This comes close, but I would make the column a little less substantial so that it didn't overwhelm your space. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/phinney-residence-dining-room-craftsman-dining-room-seattle-phvw-vp~242166) [Craftsman Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2116) by Seattle Architects & Designers Goforth Gill Architects Another one: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/open-floor-plan-view-of-breakfast-room-addition-traditional-dining-room-boston-phvw-vp~772159) [Traditional Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2107) by Lawrence Home Builders Howell Custom Building Group Here's something similar, without the column, but it would still help define the space and give your guests a feeling of arrival and enclosure before they continue into the rest of the home. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-craftsman-kitchen-craftsman-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~769261) [Craftsman Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2116) by Portland Interior Designers & Decorators Weedman Design Partners When planning your cabinets and finishes, keep in mind the age and style of your home and those in the neighborhood so that they play nicely together. We recently bought a farm house that had a very "70's" kitchen plopped into it. This is the sort of thing I think you'd like to avoid. : ) Are you familiar with Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" books? They are wonderful and readily available at many libraries. I think you'd find them helpful in your planning. As you undertake your renovations, please address the issue of your family room being cold. Would it benefit from a new gas fireplace, or energy efficient word burning insert? (Our wood stove draws our children to it like an outdoor light at night draws bugs in the summer, LOL.) If you make your family room warm and cozy, and keep a sightline between the kitchen and living room, everyone will enjoy it and use it more. Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah Susanka's website

Again, thanks all :) Gharborwa -- I'll second what someone else said on this. Meta Marble has (or had, when I was looking a few months ago) some nice soapstone. Crocodile Rocks had a good grey-with-veins soapstone, too, as I recall. Pental had a large selection, too, though I can't remember if any had good veining (they might have some now). I didn't travel to CA to pick out the slabs. I had been looking for so long and collected so many samples I felt pretty confident about what I could expect. Plus the company I bought my slabs from (Soapstone Werks) sent several great photos. Also, I have to admit that working with Wendy at Soapstone Werks increased my confidence that this was, indeed, a special and beautiful stone. After dealing with so many male stone professionals (and don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are men in the business who also have a sense of aesthetics in addition to the business side of things) it was really refreshing to deal with Wendy. Talking with her on the phone about the stone and about what I was looking for just really gave me a lot of confidence that she knew what I wanted and understood my aesthetic concerns. Boxerpups (great name -- now I want to see those boxer pups!) -- Thanks for your comments. It was tough to wait so long for a nice stone to pop up, but I'm glad I did. You hit the nail on the head :) The name of my soapstone is "Green Porto". I bought it from Soapstone Werks who (I think) gets their stone from Dorado. Interestingly, I was also working with the Dorado people to find a nice stone but they didn't send me any pictures of anything like the slabs at Soapstone Werks. I don't know if they just didn't have any more in stock, or if I dealt with a dud of a salesman. In fact, the Dorado guy told me they only had one greenish soapstone in stock and the photos he sent me were so bad you could hardly see what the stone looked like! Not professional, at all. To top it off, after he sent me a couple photos he told me that half of those were of slabs that had been sold a few months ago. How helpful is THAT? *not* Regarding fabricators -- I went with Venetian Stoneworks out of Woodinville. I chose them because they have state-of-the-art equipment for templating and cutting stone (laser templating so every odd angle and corner would be EXACT, and a computer-guided water-jet cutting machine that cut the stone to the exact dimensions of the template). The other thing I liked about them that made a difference in the aesthetics of the installed stone -- they took high-res photos of my slabs. These were loaded into a computer program and I got to see EXACTLY how the stones could be cut and how the veining would line up. It was really cool. There on the computer screen were my actual slabs and I could watch how the pieces would lay out as they tried different configurations for how the various pieces could be cut from the stone. I had final say on how the slabs would be ultimately be cut. That was important to me. All this being said, though (and I can't stress this enough) I DID MY HOMEWORK! I did not sit back and rely on this fabricator's mostly-granite experience. I knew how I wanted my stone to be finished, I made a big fuss over how I did *not* want any sealer, over what grit I wanted the final finish to be, over how I wanted the seams done and what kind of glue I wanted them to use. Honestly, I think I was a real pain-in-the-a$$ in a lot of ways (though always with a smile on my face!). In fact, I know I was. But I wanted to make sure this stone was done RIGHT. In the end, they learned a lot about working with soapstone (I think my project was only the second soapstone they'd ever done, and the first one they did they had finished like a regular granite project, with sealer and all). But yes, Venetian Stoneworks was great. They listened to my concerns (and fussing). They were professional through it all. They very definitely fabricated the stone according to my preferences. After it was all said and done we were both very pleased with the project and thankful it worked out like it did. Brescianlute -- What's going on behind the cooktop? Well, I still haven't put up the backsplash yet. My plan is to do some sort of artsy mosaic with glass tile (nothing gawdy, but more subtle-design oriented). But in the photos here all you're seeing is the studs of the half wall. Give me a few more months and I'll post pics of the backsplash :)

theglampad, thank you! I don't have any soapstone advice, but I'm looking forward to seeing your counters. My black marble backsplash is also honed and hand polished. It's behind the sink, and I've had no issues with it--I wipe it down when I'm cleaning the counters, and once in a while I polish it, to give it a rich sheen. My carrara island is also DIY honed and hand polished. It was a used dining table top that had a hard polish, but had never been sealed. I've never sealed it, and I use the sanding sponge to rub out any new etches. I'm not sure about Statuary or Danby marble, but the carrara doesn't seem to stain, and the only ding it has is a small 'star' from the claw of a hammer (my bad), really not even noticeable. The honed surface reminds me of crusted snow. Back to stains--my 5yr old grandson has left food, ink, and non-permanent marker stains, and they've all cleaned up completely. Carbon from a candle wick washed off with water and dish liquid, and bright red dye from one of those powdered drink packets (I didn't know it had been included in a treat bag!!) came off, too, even though when I saw the mess, I was sure the marble would never be the same. I think I used a baking soda poultice on the drink mix. And I'll tell a story that might be better suited to one of the more 'philosophical' marble threads. A couple of years ago my daughter brought home a friend from college--a young man who graciously offered to cut up tomatoes for salad. I handed him a small cutting board and sharp knife, and watched to see what he did. He placed the board on the island, where he helpfully, and happily, cut the tomatoes, as the juice ran off on the marble. I knew that I could later sand out the etches, so I didn't say anything, except 'thank you.' I was surprised to find that I was somehow comforted to know that this boy hadn't been raised in a home where someone was constantly admonishing, "Not on the marble!" Incidentally, that young man surprised me last Wednesday, by traveling from Washington,DC, to spend the night, and Thanksgiving, with us. (Daughter was in on the surprise.) :)